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ADDRESS 



i>i';i,i\Kni<;i) in 



OAK-GROVE CEMETERY, MEDFORI). MAS8. 

SEPTElVir.F.U (!. lS(i(). 



CONSECRATION OF THE MONUMKNT 



KHEC'I Kl> IN IHlMiH (ir TIIK 



M E DFO R I) \ ( )IATN'i^ 1 : 1 : US. 



CHARLES P.ROOKS. 



BOSTON: 

PRRSvS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

is(;(;. 



ADDRESS 



DELIVKRED IN 



OAK-GROVE CEMETERY, MEDFORD, :MAS8., 
September G, 18G6, 



CONSECRATION OF THE MONUMENT 



ERECTED IN HONOR OF THE 



MEDFOllD YOLUNTEERS. 



BY 



CHARLES BROOKS. 



BOSTON: 

PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

18 GO. 



(Lb^M 2^ 



'05 



Ft 4 



Medford, Sept. 24, 18GG. 



Rev. Charles Brooks. 



Dear Sir, — The members of the Lawrence Light Guard of this 
town, believing that the Address delivered by you upon the occasion of 
the consecration of the Soldiers' Monument, in Oak-Grove Cemetcr}', 
contains great and eloquently expressed truths, which ought to be 
more widely disseminated than the passing occasion of oral delivery 
would permit, have conferred upon the undersigned the agi'eeable duty 
of requesting that you will furnish the same for publication. Trusting 
that your reply will be in accordance with our wished, ?sVfe remain 



Very truly yours, 



Charles Russell, 
Joseph Vinal, 
Otis V. Litciifu-xd, 

Committee. 



OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS 

OP 

THE LAWRENCE LIGHT GUARD, 

gri^is gibbrcss is rtsjjcdfttllg gtbkatelj, 

BT 

TIIEtR FKIEND AND FELLOW-TOWKSMAK, 

CHARLES BROOKS. 



ADDRESS. 



Soldiers, Neighbors, and Fellow-citizens,— 

You all know why we have come to this city of the dead. 
Upon the sides of this solid and beautiful cenotaph are 
graven, hi letters of stone, the following names : — 

Lieut. Col. J. G. Chambers ; Lieut. William H. Burbank ; 
Edward Gustine; L. M. Fletcher; Frank A. Keen; 
E. Sprague; D. T. Newcomb; D. Nolan; A. H. Stacy; 
D. McGiLLicuDDY ; S. Harding ; J. Stetson; J. M. Powers ; 
C. W. Willis ; F. Curtin ; James Haley. 

Volunteers of Company C, Thu-ty-ninth Regiment, as follows : J. P. 
Hubbell; James Bierne; A.Joyce; Patrick Gleason ; 
Augustus Tufts; R. Livingston; F. J. Curtis; B. J. El- 
lis ; H. G. CuRRELL ; E. Ireland ; William H. Rogers ; 
William Harding; H. R. Hatheway; H. Mills; G. H. 
Lewis; J. M. Garrett; D. S. Cheney; R. W. Cheslyn ; 
M. O'Connell; Sergt. S. M. Stearns; Sergt. J. T. Morri- 
son; J. M. Fletcher; E. B. Hatch; R. C, Hatha- 
way'; G. H. Champlin; Privates — C. H. Coolidge ; S. W. 
Joyce. 

The front side, in raised letters, reads thus: "In honor 
of the Medford Volunteers who sacrificed their lives in 
defence of the Union. Fallen heroes leave fragrant memo- 
ries. 186G." Forty-three self-sacrificing patriots. Twelve 



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of our brothers were killed in battle ; twelve died in prison ; 
three died of their wounds ; and the rest died of disease. 

There might be placed, in this enclosure, the names of 
William Polly and Plenry Putnam, who fell in Concord on 
the 19th of April, 1775 ; and Smith and Francis, who fell 
the same day in West Cambridge. The fifty-nine Medford 
Volunteers at that time took for their motto these words : 
^^ Every citizen a soldier^ every soldier a patriot." 

The Lawrence Light Guard received its charter, Feb. 
20, 1851, and as volunteers went into service four years 
ago this day, as Company C, in the Thirty-ninth Regiment ; 
and took a distinguished part in the first Bull-Run battle, 
under Colonel Samuel C. Lawrence, of Medford, whose 
thoughtful protection of his men, while he exposed his own 
life, whose calm and unflinching courage and patriotic fidel- 
ity, justly won tlie love of his regiment, and secured their 
sympathy when he received a dangerous wound. 

This Company C, under the command of our prompt, 
intelligent, and brave citizen, Captain Hutchins, was mus- 
tered in Aug. 15, 1862 ; and mustered out June 7, 1865, 
having lost twenty-two members. They behaved like patri- 
ots, and came home full of honor. The sufferings of their 
captain and his men in prison, at Danville, may be under- 
stood by one fact : for months, all the daily food of a pris- 
oner was a narrow piece of corn-bread, four inches long, 
and two inches thick ! Their health and strength rapidly 
wasted, while tlieir rebel officers boasted in their hearing, 
that they could " kill Yankees there faster than Lee could 
in the field." 

This beautiful color, waving the stripes and stars before 
you, was torn in three places by rifle-balls. It was pre- 
• sented by the ladies of Medford to the Lawrence Light 
Guard, and carried by them to the front in Virginia ; and, 
when they were called into battle, William H. Lawrence, 
with a firm and dauntless step, carried it forward, facing the 



foe, and calling to his comrades to hasten after him ; and, 
at the moment when he was ordered to retreat, a hall pierced 
his heart, and he fell dead upon his flag, where his blood 
can now be seen in its folds. It is another precious memo- 
rial among us of bravery and of death. 

Medford honors itself in honoring its martyrs ; and, as 
long as this granite column endures, succeeding genera- 
tions will read it with gratitude. It is a most fit expression 
of our thankful hearts to those young lovers of their coun- 
try, who were ready to leave father and mother, wife and 
children, and expose their lives to the shot and bayonets of 
a host of infuriated rebels. Their burning thought was to 
save their country. They died, but their country lives. 
Let there be no bounds, then, to our gratitude ; and, as lo;ig 
as memory lives, let the names on this monument be sanc- 
tified in our hearts ; and let it be used, moreover, to express 
our gratitude to all the skilful officers and brave men of tlic 
army and navy who achieved such decisive victories over 
the enemies of our country. 

We cannot forget here the wounded of our army and 
navy who are doomed to pass the rest of life, some without 
an eye, some without an arm or a foot, thus cut off from so 
many of the common uses, pleasures, and profits, which 
others enjoy. Tliese wounded and disabled patriots should 
be placed in United-States offices, whore they can support 
themselves and their families ; and we ought to employ and 
aid them in every way we cau. We owe them : let us pay 
our debts. 

Moreover, we cannot forget here tlic mourning families 
from whose firesides the war took our departed heroes. 
Costly sacrifices indeed they laid upon the altar of their 
country ; and we would here assure them that we will not 
forget their tears. 

While our gratitude and sympathy find outward cxi)res- 
sion in this monument, we are now ready to ask if it docs 



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not teach us something. Docs it not teach us that retribu- 
tive justice finds its way of jnmishing the crimes of nations ? 
So long as it stands, it will prove that the atrocious sin of 
slavery has been signally and properly punished before the 
civilized world ; and, when a freedman from the South 
comes to Medford, let him be directed to this spot, that he 
may bring the richest offering of his heart, and lay it on 
this altar. 

This memorial shaft speaks to us also of our manhood 
and national character. The rush of our heroes to the 
ranks, when they heard the first gun against Fort Sumter, 
proved — what? It proved, conclusively, that we had a 
New England, and a national character already formed in 
the souls of these patriots, lying silent and unseen till the 
country called for it ; and, when it did call, it found these 
men to be intense Americans, intense New Englanders, in- 
tense Medfordites. Medford recognized them with one uni- 
versal shout of approbation. 

Have not these facts taught us about our manhood and 
our national character? We feel now, as this generation 
has never felt before, the vital force of patriotic principle, 
and the solemn obligation of patriotic duty. Do we not feel 
this new meaning of the word patriotism tingling from our 
central heart to every extremity ? Our soldiers and sailors 
have taught us this, and are they not our permanent bene- 
factors ? They have brought to light this new nation in our 
midst. 

Again, these memorial pillars testify to the power of our 
Constitution to bear the new and untried strain of a gigan- 
tic civil war. Examples from history seemed against us. 
AVe knew that the civil wars of Rome ended in the dictator- 
ship of Caesar, the French revolution ended in the imperial 
throne of Napoleon, and the civil wars of England in the 
military protectorship of Cromwell. Not so with us. Mark 
the facts. Universal education had taught us the use of 



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the ballot-box for ourselves, and the cartridge-box for our 
enemies. Our Constitution proved a safe compass on a 
stormy sea. Inspired by it, we organized a war-system 
superior to that of ancient Rome or modern France. 
Never before have the people so entirely governed the na- 
tion ; and we learn from this popular fact, that neither 
kingcraft nor slave oligarchy arc wanted on this conti- 
nent. , 

Furthermore, this column suggests to us our duties, it 
asks us to love our Union more and more every month, 
and to watch with eagle eyes the doings of its enemies. 
Did you ever know a boy who loved the boy that whipped 
him •? The hatred of a subjugated people is neither short- 
lived nor shallow. It will not do to forget it, or trifle with 
it We must trust traitors only as we trust a fox. Pardon- 
ing will not take out the poison of hate. A man in the 
South contrived to catch a large copperhead snake in a bas- 
ket He brought the venomous reptile home, and showed 
him to his neighbors. Having examined and teased him 
sufficiently, a gentleman said to the owner, "Well, what 
are you going to do with him? " A negro, standing by, sung 
out, " Massa, swear him, and let him go." Let us hope that 
the day of Catalines and Guy Fawkeses is passed; but, it 
it is not, let the memory of those who have fallen create m 
us a resolution to make the next civil war final m all its 
bearings. Must we not be prepared to do our work more 
fnlly than we have done it ? If Lee's surrender to General 
Grant is only the end of the first act in the terrible tragedy 
of our civil war, how imperative is the call now made upon 
us to complete at the ballot-box what we left undone m the 
field! We must reconstruct the rebel States to prevent 
their reconstructing us. 

I received this morning a letter from one of the soundest 
thinkers in New Hampshire, in which he has this good 
counsel concerning our political status : 



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" Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, for they will pass away, 
I believe nnfaithfulness was a crime, before Constitutions were 
framed, or human laws inscribed on statute-books. Consequences 
follow acts. Accepted trusts perverted or broken will land the 
betrayer, like the lost apostle, in his own place." 

We have always succeeded when we have been just, and 
always been defeated when we have resorted to political 
compromises. Peace is to be sought by justice and human- 
ity, not by crafty concessions. Has Prussia allowed Aus- 
tria to dictate the terms of peace ? To the victors justly 
belong the spoils ; and Prussia takes them, and Europe ap- 
proves. Some expect us to do the exact opposite of this ! 
Let me illustrate my meaning in a homely way. Suppose 
two pugilists have a prize-fight, and No. 1 conquers ; and 
when No. 2 confesses that he has been thoroughly whipped, 
then No. 1 generously says to him, " What favor can I now 
do you ? " No. 2 arrogantly replies, " Let me put you 
into this guillotine, that I may strike off your head with a 
relish." Will No. 1 be such a fool as to let him do it? 
He that hath eyes to see, let him see. Have we achieved 
universal freedom, but to ignore universal justice and uni- 
versal equality of rights ? Was not the hug of our Ursa 
Major relaxed before the death-rattle in the throat of rebel- 
lion was heard ? Henceforth we must l>e " lined with 
eyes." 

This column says, that several of our brothers died in 
prison. May it not remind us, that sixty thousand loyal 
patriots were starved in the pens and prisons of the South ; 
and that this savage cruelty, unknown in the history of 
civilized warfare, has never been duly punished ? Can we 
forget Belle-Isle, Andersonville, Libby, Salisbury, Dan- 
ville ? Will it not be well to remember them at the ballot- 
box ? We have destroyed the brain of rebellion, but not 
its heart ; therefore can we have a true and sacred peace 
with rebels before we have Americanized them ? I fear not. 



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How can wc Americanize tlicm ? I always propose the 
spelling-book and the Bible. What else can give them 
new heads and new hearts ? 

Among the imperative and Christian duties of our coun- 
try now is the education of the freedmeu. In the immortal 
Proclamation of President Lincoln, Jan. 1, 18G3, there is 
an implied promise, that the United States would instruct 
the freedmen in the new rights and new duties of their 
new condition. That divine proclamation changed all the 
slaves — into what ? Not into orang-outangs, not into an- 
gels, but into citizens. Citizens they are, nothing more 
and nothing less ; and, as citizens and human l»cings, they 
have as much right to instruction and development as they 
have right to food. At this moment, they ask of us this 
bread : shall we give them a stone ? 

This granite pillar seems to connect itself with all the 
parts and questions of our civil war. It calls up the mar- 
vellous ingenuity of our people, shown from the iron-clads 
and cannon to defend our cities, and destroy our enemies, 
to the Sanitary Commission to heal our wounded, and feed 
our hungry ; from man in his noble daring, to woman in 
her angel ministries. 

Naval architecture and naval warfare have been revolu- 
tionized by us, and have already cost Europe countless 
millions to jjrovide themselves with our instruments of at- 
tack and defence. For offensive and defensive warfare, we 
stand at the head of the nations ; and let kings be careful 
how they treat republicanism on this continent. 

We are reminded to-day of the officers of the army and 
navy. The first name on this cenotaph is Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Chambers. You knew him as an industrious and 
faithful young man, and he proved an intelligent and brave 
officer, leaving a good record behind him ; and how truly 
may the same be said of Company C, of the Tliirty-Ninth 



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Regiment, and all the others who went from Massachu- 
setts ! 

The war made officers, as it were, extempore ; and where 
have abler officers been seen ? Think of Grant, Sherman, 
Sheridan, Thomas, Hooker, Burnside, Meade, Terry, Gil- 
more, Mitchell, and a score of others like them, on land ; 
and Farragut, Porter, Foote, Dupont, Winslow, and others, 
oh the sea ; and I say, that wiser men to plan, or braver 
men to execute, cannot be found among the living. They 
knew how to treat a rebellion that stretched over ten 
degrees of latitude and twenty-five degrees of longitude. 
What can Europe name that excels, in boldness, speed, and 
success, Sherman's march from Atlanta to Savannah ; or 
outdoes Farragut lashed to his mainmast ? These illustri- 
ous men, with their armies and navies, rescued our country ; 
and now they call on us to preserve it. Let iis here to-day 
resolve and promise, that ive will never march to any tune 
that does not keep step to the music of the Union. 

The results of our civil war have carried good news to 
the oppressed of other nations. It has opened rich lands, 
extending ten degrees in latitude and twenty-five degrees in 
longitude, which can be purchased fifty ])er cent below their 
real value, and can easily be made to yield to Northern 
skill twenty-five per cent income on the first cost. Our 
stripes and stars now float so high as to be seen by all 
Europe, and are everywhere an emblem of hope. The half- 
starved, skilful operative of England sees them, and comes 
here, where his genius can find a field, and his labor secure 
him food and comfort. Tlie Italian artist sees them, and 
hastens here to put in marble the statesmen, soldiers, and 
benefactors of the land. The German scholars see them, 
and come here, hoping to reduce their profoundest theorems 
to practical agencies. Let them come. Let the wise, the 
noble, the enterprising, and the good see our stripes and 



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stars, and come here to buy the plantations of an effete 
and dying chivahy ; and thus turn the Soutlicrn States into 
enlightened, loyal, and republican communities. Our motto 
is, Onward and uptvard, noiv and for ever. 

Soldiers and fellow-citizens, we now solemnly bequeath 
this hallowed monument to our succeeding generations in 
Medford. Let it stand in its simple power, protected, not 
only from sacrilegious hands, but from thoughtless fracture, 
misplaced pencillings, and offensive scratches. Let nothing- 
be done to it that can lessen its silent eloquence, or destroy 
its patriotic design. 

We have given it in our hearts to our successors. Wlien 
your children's children shall read the history of our dread- 
ful war, and understand its momentous tendencies, then 
will they come to this consecrated monument, blackened as 
it will be by the storms of a century, and read with swelling 
hearts the names of the Medford volunteers who sacrificed 
their lives in defence of the Union. Fifty years hence, let 
the hoary-headed soldier come, and kneel in prayer as he 
calls to mind the young friend who fell at his side. Here 
let the aged mother come to read the name of her patriot 
son. Here let the statesman come to learn what union and 
liberty have cost. Here let the historian come to meditate 
on those central truths which shape the destinies of the 
world. Here let the poet come, and celebrate in sweetest lays 
the victories of truth and the triumph of right. Here let 
love come, that it may carry away inspiration ; and beauty 
come, that she may leave here her garlands. 

Let me close with a word to my young friends. Most of 
the names on this monument are the names of young men. 
We see that young men can adopt the loftiest ideas, and are 
willing to die for their nol)lcst convictions. Let not their 
patriotic examples be lost on the young people of Medford. 
Young ladies and gentlemen, we look to you to become the 



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conservators and ornaments of society. May no one of you 
ever join the company of the destructives ; but remember 
that you can save your country, and benefit your age, by the 
adoption of loyal sentiments, and the steady practice of a 
Christian life. Hold fast, therefore, hold fast to the spelling- 
book and the Bible, — the two agencies that have created and 
sanctified Christendom. 

" Hail ! thou Republic of Washington, hail ! 
Never one star of thy Union shall pale : 
Thou hope of the world ! every omen of ill 
Must fade in the light of thy destiny still, 
And time bring but honor with increase to thee. 
Thou land of the Beautiful, home of the Tree! " 



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